Terrain inconsistencies

From BearWiki

Claim: The places Bear visits on Mount Kilauea are not near each other.

This photograph shows Pu'u O'o about four miles to the west. I took it on August 14, 2005 from about the 2000 foot elevation at the top of Pulama Pali. If the Bear had actually been dropped from a chopper it would have been on this side of Pu'u O'o. Pu'u O'o is at the boundary between the national park and state forest reserve. The national park would not have permitted the stunt of dropping him from a chopper. In addition, the Federal Aviation Administration has a ceiling of 500 for choppers in tour areas like the national park and 1500 feet in other areas. So I don't know if they had special permission or they dropped him in another location. My opinion is that he was dropped somewhere else. Otherwise they would have taken the opportunity to show Pu'u O'o in the background to show their legitimacy. There is only barren lava between Pu'u O'o and my location. This would have been the best route down, considering the location of his final destination.

This volcanic vent is Mauna Ulu. It was active from 1969 to mid 70's. It is located on the video at about the 13 minute time after he says "the temperature in the volcano is overpowering" The area shown around this time is also near Mauna Ulu. This vent is located at around the 3000 foot level. The photograph was taken from near the viewpoint on the Chain of Craters Road. It is about seven miles west and uphill of Pu'u O'o. So he is heading higher and away from his final destination.

This is the forest where he supposedly goes to get water. It is after the 14 minute mark after he says "the lava fields of Kilauea were once covered with lush rainforests" It is located near the end of Highway 130, which is also his final destination near the ocean and sea level. It is about 14 miles from the preceding scene at Mauna Ulu. He's already home, but he keeps searching for the ocean, which would be clearly visible from this location about 1/4 mile to the right (south) There is no direct route from Mauna Ulu to the end of Highway 130 since the lava flows have taken out about 10 miles of the highway connecting this area to the end of the Chain of Craters Road in the national park. He had to drive from Mauana Ulu to Highway 11,take a right in Keaau to Highway 130 and then to the end of Highway 130, which is also known as Kalapana. This is about 60 miles on the highway.

This photograph pretty much pins down my location without a gps. It's the intersection of Prince and Tuberose in the abandoned Royal Gardens Subdivision on June 5, 2002 during an ongoing lava flow. The elevation is 1400 feet on the slopes of Pulama Pali. The Bear's destination would be to the left of the photograph along the coast.

View of the slopes of Mauna Loa Volcano as seen from the SW Rift Zone at the Summit of Kilauea Volcano. This setting of Mauna Loa is not visible from the area around Pu'u O'o, which is the location in which the Bear has just been dropped off by the chopper.

It would be illegal to cut tree ferns and set fires in the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. So he either did it illegally in the national park or he did it outside the park. It may be illegal in state forests also. The terrain in the tropical forest shown is flat. No such forest exists in a line between Pu'u O'o and the ocean near his destination at the end of Highway 130 on the east side of the lava fields.. There is a small forest surrounding the abandoned Royal Gardens Subdivision, but it is in a steep incline on the slopes of the cliff known as Pulama Pali

The lava tube is absolutely not in the area between Pu'u O'o and the ocean. I have explored that area many times. It is mostly barren lava with a few islands of forest. The area shown is flat, so it is not in the forest surrounding the Royal Gardens Subdivision.

The television video does not show him climbing down Pulama Pali which can be very steep and has an elevation gain of about 2000 feet. I speculate that they did most of the hot lava shots near the ocean and never actually climbed down from Pu'u O'o which is at about the 2500 foot elevation at its base.

Bear lands at a crater-like structure known as a shatter ring about five miles downslope from Pu'u O'o and three miles above the end of Highway 130. This area was active from the Kupaianaha lava flows from 1986 to 1992. There are no active flows near the shatter ring and Pu'u O'o is not visible from that location.

After Bear emerges from the shatter ring, which is at the 1500 foot elevation, he is on the SW Rift Zone at the summit of Kilauea at the 4000 foot elevation and 17 miles away as the crow flies. The area on which he is walking is the same area as the location of the famous Bear Bridge Crossing seen at the end of the episode. The slopes of Mauna Loa Volcano are seen in the distance shortly after he says "Wow, look at that." at around the 3 minute mark. That setting of Mauna Loa cannot be seen from the area around Pu'u O'o or the shatter ring.

Mauna Ulu, a volcanic vent which was active from 1969 to the mid 1970's, is shown as he is making his way through the lava flows. This vent is not visible from the area around Pu'u O'o or any place between Pu'u O'o and the ocean. The south flank shown is visible from the Chain of Craters Road around the 3000 foot level.